WIP: Investigating Students' Emotions and Motivations in a Game-Based Learning Environment

In this Work-in-Progress Research Paper, we explore students' emotions and motivations in a game-based learning (GBL) environment. GBL has been shown to be effective in improving students' cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes, including emotions and motivations. In this study, we focus on the Cone Penetration Testing module of GeoExplorer's virtual learning environment, which has been shown to enable civil engineering undergraduates to develop key competencies necessary to problem-solve and make critical on-site decisions. This paper examines the impacts of GeoExplorer on students' emotions and motivations by asking: (1) How, if at all, do students' self-reported emotions shift through experiencing Geo-Explorer, and how does GeoExplorer contribute to these shifts, if at all? and (2) What is the connection between students' self-reported emotions and their self-reported motivational attitudes, both before and after they engage with GeoExplorer? Responses from 60 participants about their emotions and motivations pre-and post-engagement with GeoExplorer were analyzed. Inductive methods, including open coding and the constant comparative approach, were used to analyze the following emotions-based survey item: Thinking about your experience over the past week in the course, what particular emotions and/or thoughts about the course both inside and outside the classroom stand out for you? Deductive analytical practices, including closed coding, were used to analyze the following motivations-based survey item: What factors contributed to your motivation over the past week in the course? Consistent with literature, our preliminary findings indicate an interrelationship between GBL experiences and shifts in students' reported emotions. We also determine a link between these emotional shifts and motivational changes from pre- to post-engagement with GeoExplorer. It is the interplay of these three elements - GBL experience, student emotions, and student motivations - that is at the center of this work.